IRGC wants the bomb: Experts

Experts say Iran's nuclear ambitions will not stop despite inking a nuclear deal with the world powers in 2015.

They cite North Korea as a case, saying it is the most preferred example that the Mullahs are seeking to follow 'in terms of possessing nuclear capabilities.

The Shiite state uses its military apparatuses in developing military hardware that could serve its nuclear capabilities such as ballistic missiles.

The IRGC, according to insiders, is said to be having strong connection to the North Korean rouge regime as it pursues to possess nuclear capabilities.

Ballistic missile program

Under the 2010 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929, Iran is prohibited from undertaking "any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using ballistic missile technology.

However, the state, considered by many world leaders, including President Trump, as a terrorist state, have performed a series of missiles tests even after penning the nuclear deal in 2015.

A lot of prominent experts consider the IRGC the locomotive for Iran missile tests.

Briefly reviewing the IRGC's activities that meet the criteria for FTO listing, Ambassador John Bolton noted in particular, "the IRGC's prominent indeed dispositive role in Iran's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, according to PR Newswire.

Others go beyond this. They even express fears that the IRGC, which many demands its designation as a terror organization, is seeking in earnest to possess nuclear capabilities.

New evidence was uncovered about the extent of control that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is leading the mullahs’ ballistic missile drive, parallel to the nuclear program and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, has over this, a report on Iran Commentarysaid.

According to the report, the NCRI cited intelligence gathered by sources linked to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) from inside the regime, particularly among the IRGC rank and file.

Against the nuclear deal

Experts argue that the IRGC has been standing against the Iran nuclear agreement with the Western powers, saying it is defending its own interests.

The IRGC benefits from sanctions. To be clear, the number one entity the United States wants to weaken is actually one of the foremost beneficiaries of the current sanctions against the regime. Ariane Tabatabai wrote on the Bulletin shortly before inking the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers led by the US.

It has direct involvement in the country’s nuclear and missile programs, she added.

She also said the IRGC is the foremost player in Iran’s defense programs, including the country’s contentious missile program, which poses a security concern to regional and international players. And its concrete involvement in the nuclear program has several layers. First, some of the country’s key contentious facilities were built on IRGC bases.

The IRGC is somewhere between the Rouhani government and the hardliners trying to undermine its efforts to reach a deal, she concluded, citing IRGC commander Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari saying to the public that Washington isn’t trustworthy.

Mimicking North Korea

Iran has been looking on North Korea, which possesses nuclear capabilities and performs missiles and even nuclear tests now and then, as an example to follow.

Both countries are considered archrivals of the world powers in general and the US in particular. So experts argue that they see themselves 'on the same boat'.

A report posted on the Hill said sources in the Arab Gulf suggest that Tehran may be involved in testing its nuclear weapons and developing its ICBMs in North Korea.

Being derivatives of the Soviet SCUD-B missile and the North Korean No Dong, these weapons can become nuclear-capable, it added.